Israeli hostage families give hope after “rollercoaster” negotiations with Hamas

As negotiators neared a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas on Tuesday, the families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip for 15 agonizing months said they “remain hopeful” that their loved ones will be released.

Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced political backlash on Tuesday, even before a possible ceasefire with Hamas had been signed.

Negotiators were expected to meet in Qatar on Tuesday to finalize the details of a ceasefire, a day after President Joe Biden suggested the deal was “close to becoming a reality.” This apparent breakthrough came after more than a year of war that has devastated Gaza and a year of stop-start talks.

For those whose loved ones have remained captive through a series of false premonitions, a deal can’t come soon enough.

After months of intense criticism of the Israeli government and leaders of mass protests, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum – an advocacy group representing many families of the hostages – said in a statement that “any agreement, even a limited one, represents an important first step.” towards a comprehensive agreement.”

They added that they remain “hopeful that every step brings us closer to the goal of bringing everyone home.”

Of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, 94 people are still being held in Gaza – 34 of them have died. Four more hostages in Gaza took place before October 7, and two of them also died.

Daniel Lifshitz, 36, whose 84-year-old grandfather was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, told NBC News on Monday he was “optimistic” about the deal but felt he was on a “roller coaster ride.” .

Lifschitz, whose 85-year-old grandmother Yocheved Lifshitz was released in October 2023, said President-elect Donald Trump’s tough language helped make negotiations easier for mediators.

“I think now both sides have to prove that they will do what Trump said. I trust it,” he said.

Netanyahu, who has been at the center of many of the hostage families’ protests, invited family representatives to a meeting on Tuesday related to the hostage deal, a spokesman for the organization told NBC News on Monday. He has not yet commented on the negotiations or the content of a possible deal.

The White House has pushed both sides to reach an agreement, and two U.S. officials close to the negotiations told NBC News on Monday that under the current proposal, the first hostages held by Hamas would arrive 48 hours after the ceasefire was announced would be released on the spot.

One of the officials said the first hostages to be released under the proposed deal were “in very bad condition.” The remaining hostages held in Gaza, including Americans, should eventually be released.

But just as the two sides neared an agreement, a large portion of a rocket fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen was cleared by Israeli police after it hit a house in the village of Mevo Beitar, about 10 miles south of Jerusalem. had met.

The proposed ceasefire was met with fury by hardliners in Netanyahu’s government. The right-wing extremist Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has threatened to resign from the divided and fragile coalition government.

Ben-Gvir said in a post on , along with continuing the military crackdown on Hamas.”

Ben-Gvir’s ultranationalist colleague, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has not indicated whether he will resign but also criticized what he called a “surrender agreement.” In a post on

And others believe the emerging agreement is too little, too late.

Before the weekend’s apparent breakthrough, Aviva Siegel, herself a former hostage held in Gaza for 51 days, said she feared the deal would come too late “because we know the conditions” under which the hostages are being held.

“This is the closest I’ve ever been since my release,” she told NBC News earlier this month. “This deal has to come true. It just has to come true.”

If successful, the gradual ceasefire could end fighting that began after the Oct. 7 terror attacks by Hamas, which Israel said killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage.

According to local health authorities, more than 46,500 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in the enclave, although the death toll is believed to be higher.